System for replacing panels from the center of a finished, interlocked floor

ABSTRACT

The invention is a system based on adaptors and replacement panel design that allows replacement of a panel that is surrounded by other panels in an interlocking floor system. Since the panel to be replaced is surrounded by panels that cannot be disturbed, only vertical motion is available to allow the replacement panel to be positioned into the space. One side of the adaptors of the invention mates to the surrounding panels in a standard manner. The other side of the adaptors provides an interface that allows vertical interlocking of the new replacement panel. The replacement panel of the intervention provides interfaces along its edges that allow vertical mating with the adaptors&#39; vertical interlocking mechanism.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of flooring systems. More particularly, the present invention is in the field of modifying an existing interlocked floor by replacing floor panels from the center of the floor.

Hardwood, manufactured wood, laminate, and new vinyl based flooring systems are very popular today. They all utilize similar interlocking mechanisms to connect floor panels together to create a finished floor. Once installed, it is extremely difficult to replace a panel is the middle of the floor. In order to do so requires unlocking the entire floor up to the panel at issue, replacing the panel, and then reinstalling the area of the floor that was removed. This effort often exceeds the value gained and the process weakens the interlocking structures.

Hence, manufacturers provide patch materials that can be used to fill in small scratches and dents. However, these are often inadequate and only address small damages. Additionally, there is no way to address the issue if the user wants to replace individual floor panels for cosmetic reasons such as to establish a pattern of various colors, textures, or styles.

There is therefore, a need for a system that allows replacement of individual floor panels in an inter-locking floor with minimal effort.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The difficulty in replacing a panel in the center of an inter-locking flooring system lies primarily in the fact that such floors are installed in a horizontal plane. In other words, the panels are inter-locked using primarily, a horizontal motion. When the floor is initially installed, there is room to advance each panel in the horizontal direction from the area of the floor that is yet unfinished. However, once the floor is completely installed, it is impossible to install a replacement panel as there is no space to negotiate the horizontal motion. For example, when a damaged panel is removed, the opening created is surrounded by other panels. There is only a vertical direction that can be leveraged to install the replacement panel.

Hence, the basic concept being proposed in the current invention is that of converting the requirement for horizontal motion into one of vertical motion. The present invention allows a replacement panel to be installed vertically down into a space in the center of an interlocked floor. This conversion is achieved by use of adaptors and specially designed replacement panels. The adaptors of the invention convert the requirement for horizontal motion into vertical motion. The replacement panel of the invention is specially designed to lock into the adaptors in a vertical direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts the side view of a common interlocking joint used in flooring systems today, where C′ represents the tongue side and C represents the groove side.

FIG. 2 depicts the invention used on the groove side of the existing flooring. A depicts the new replacement panel of the invention that is to be added with one of its lateral faces designed to interlock vertically with a complementary structure on face D of the adaptor B of the invention. B depicts the adaptor of the invention whose face E connects horizontally to existing flooring panel C and whose face D mates vertically with new flooring panel A. C depicts a panel of the existing floor that presents a grooved face into the space vacated by the panel to be replaced.

FIG. 3 depicts the invention on the tongue side of the existing flooring. A′ depicts the new replacement panel of the invention that is to be added with one of its lateral faces designed to interlock vertically with a complementary structure on face D′ of the adaptor B′ of the invention. B′ depicts the adaptor of the invention whose face E′ connects horizontally to existing flooring panel C′ and whose face D′ mates vertically with new flooring panel A′. C′ depicts a panel of the existing floor that presents a tongue face into the space vacated by the panel to be replaced.

FIG. 4 depicts the coupling adaptor F of the invention which is used to join two contiguous replacement panels A and A′. D represents the face of the coupling adaptor that provides a vertical interlocking structure complementary to the structure of one edge of replacement panel A. D′ represents the face of the coupling adaptor that provides a vertical interlocking structure complementary to the structure of one edge of replacement panel A′.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Inter-locking flooring systems leverage slight variations of a basic tongue and groove mechanism to establish a secure mechanical bond between two panels. Each rectangular floor panel has two tongue sides and two groove sides. The edge of each panel must be negotiated into the complementary edge of another. In simple tongue and groove systems such as with traditional hardwood floors, this action requires horizontal motion to bring the mating pieces together. In laminate flooring systems, a slight vertical angle may be required but the primary motion is still horizontal. In all cases, in order to add a panel of flooring to the installation, 2 of the 4 sides must be open in order to provide space for the horizontal motion to take place. This is not a problem daring the initial installation. However, when replacing a floor panel in a finished floor, this process is impossible.

The invention converts the horizontal motion necessary to join two panels into a vertical motion by use of adaptors and specially designed replacement panels. In interlocking flooring systems, there are two types of edges on the floor panels; a groove edge and tongue edge. The groove edge of one panel interlocks with the tongue edge of another. From the perspective of a given existing panel's edge, the adaptors of the invention depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3 behave exactly like the complementary edge of another panel. However, the opposite face of the adaptors present upward facing interlocking structures that vertically accept a complementary structure on the edge of the replacement panel.

The new replacement floor panel is kept secure by gluing along the length of the interfaces between the adaptor and new floor panel along all 4 edges. Alternatively, depending on the materials used, manufacturing tolerances, and usage application, friction may be sufficient to keep the replacement panel secured.

If there are two or more contiguous pieces that need replacement, an additional adaptor design is required. For instance, if two contiguous floor panels are damaged and require replacement, their removal creates an open space equivalent to the area of two floor panels. In order to introduce two replacement panels, adaptors as depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3 are required along the boundary edges of this space that interface with the existing floor panels. It is along these edges that 3 of the 4 edges of each new replacement panel will interface. However, a new coupling adaptor design is required along the center line of the open space where the 4^(th) floating edge of each new panel lies. Here, an adaptor design is required that binds these edges of the new panels together. Since there is no existing floor panel here, there is no need for the horizontal to vertical motion conversion. Rather, a coupling adaptor that provides vertical interlocking structures along its two edges which are complementary to the floating edges of the respective replacement panels is required. These interlocking structures are as depicted as faces D and D′ in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention. 

1. A system for replacing floor panels in an interlocked flooring, said system comprising: a) a first floor panel adjacent to a vacant space, wherein the vacant space was created by removal of a floor panel to be replaced; b) an adaptor, configured to be inserted in the vacant space and interlocked with the first panel wherein the adaptor comprises: i) an upper side, a lower side and a plurality of lateral faces; ii) a first interlocking structure configured to mate the adaptor horizontally with the first panel, said first interlocking structure including one of: (1) a notch on said lower side of the adaptor configured to receive a vertically extending protrusion at the end of a horizontally extending connector on an edge of said first panel and a protrusion configured to be inserted horizontally info a groove on said edge of said first panel; and (2) a horizontally extending connector on a lateral face of the adaptor with a vertically extending protrusion configured to slide beneath an edge of the first panel and be inserted Into a vertically extending groove on a lower surface of said first panel; and iii) a second interlocking structure configured to mate vertically with a replacement floor panel; and c) a replacement floor panel arranged in the vacant space and configured to mate vertically with the second interlocking structure of the adaptor.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the interlocked flooring is selected from the group consisting of wooden, laminate, and vinyl based flooring.
 3. (canceled)
 4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the first interlocking structure comprises of at least one groove so as to receive horizontally at least one extended protrusion of the first floor panel.
 5. (canceled)
 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second interlocking structure is located on the upper side of the adaptor.
 7. The system according to the claim 6, wherein the second interlocking structure comprises at least one of notches and protrusions to mate vertically with complementary structures located on a bottom of the replacement floor panel.
 8. The system according to the claim 1, wherein at least one of the horizontal and vertical mating of the interlocked flooring is strengthened by means of a material selected from the group consisting of adhesives, binding materials and bonding materials.
 9. (canceled)
 10. An adaptor for installing a replacement floor panel for an interlocked flooring in a vacant space adjacent to at least one installed floor panel, said adaptor comprising: a) an upper side, a lower side and a plurality of lateral faces; b) a first interlocking structure configured to mate the adaptor horizontally with the installed floor panel adjacent to the vacant space in the interlocked flooring, said first interlocking structure including one of: (1) a notch on said lower side of the adaptor configured to receive a vertically extending protrusion at the end of a horizontally extending connector on an edge of said installed panel, and a protrusion configured to be inserted horizontally into a groove on said edge of said installed panel; and (2) a horizontally extending connector on a lateral face of the adaptor with a vertically extending protrusion configured to slide beneath an edge of the installed panel and be inserted into a vertically extending groove on a lower surface of said installed panel; and; c) a second interlocking structure configured to mate the adaptor vertically with the replacement floor panel toeing installed in the vacant space.
 11. (canceled)
 12. The adaptor according to claim 11, wherein the first interlocking structure comprises at least one groove so as to receive horizontally at least one extended protrusion of the first floor panel.
 13. (canceled)
 14. The adaptor according to claim 10, wherein the second interlocking structure is located on the upper side of the adaptor.
 15. The adaptor according to claim 14, wherein the second interlocking structure comprises at least one of notches and protrusions to mate vertically with complementary structures located on a bottom of the second floor panel.
 16. The adaptor according to the claim 10, wherein at least one of the horizontal and vertical mating of the interlocked flooring is strengthened by means of a material selected from the group consisting of adhesives, binding materials and bonding materials.
 17. (canceled)
 18. A method for installing a replacement floor panel in a vacant space of an interlocked flooring, said method comprising the steps of: (a) inserting an at least one adaptor into the vacant space wherein the adaptor comprises an upper side, a lower side and a plurality of lateral faces; (b) interlocking the adaptor horizontally with a first floor panel adjacent to the vacant space and (c) installing a replacement floor panel vertically downward onto the adaptor, wherein the replacement floor panel is configured to mate vertically with the adaptor such that the first floor panel remains in place without moving.
 19. The method according to claim 18, wherein method is carried out with the interlocked flooring selected from the group consisting of wooden, laminate, and vinyl based flooring.
 20. The method according to the claim 18, further comprising the step of strengthening at least one of the horizontal and vertical mating of the interlocked flooring by applying a material selected from the group consisting of adhesives, binding materials and bonding materials.
 21. A system for replacing floor panels in a flooring system, comprising: a) a plurality of floor panels adjacent to a vacant space, wherein the vacant space is created by removal of a plurality of contiguous floor panels to be replaced; b) a plurality of first adaptors to be inserted in the vacant space, wherein each of the first adaptor comprises of: i) an upper side, a lower side and a plurality of lateral faces; ii) a first interlocking structure, wherein the first interlocking structure is designed so as to mate the first adaptor horizontally with one of the floor panels adjacent to the vacant space; and iii) a second interlocking structure; c) at least one coupling adaptor to be inserted in the vacant space, wherein each of the coupling adaptor comprises of a coupling structure; and d) a plurality of replacement floor panels, wherein each of the replacement floor panel is designed so as to mate vertically with the second interlocking structure and the coupling structure.
 22. The system according to claim 21, wherein the flooring is selected from the group consisting of wooden, laminate and vinyl based flooring.
 23. The system according to claim 21, wherein the first interlocking structure is located along at least one of the lateral faces of the first adaptor.
 24. The system according to claim 23, wherein the first interlocking structure comprises of at least one groove so as to receive horizontally at least one extended protrusion of one of the floor panels adjacent to the vacant space.
 25. The system according to claim 23, wherein the first interlocking structure comprises of at least one extended protrusion to engage horizontally into at least one groove of one of the floor panels adjacent to the vacant space.
 26. The system according to claim 21, wherein the second interlocking structure is located on the upper side of the first adaptor.
 27. The system according to the claim 26, wherein the second interlocking structure comprises at least one of notches and protrusions to mate vertically with complementary structure located at bottom of the replacement floor panel.
 28. The system according to the claim 21, wherein the coupling structure comprises at least one of notches and protrusions to mate vertically with complementary structure located at bottom of the replacement floor panel.
 29. The system according to the claim 21, wherein the coupling adaptor is designed so as to mate vertically with two contiguous replacement panels.
 30. The system according to the claim 21, wherein the horizontal and vertical mating is strengthened by use of a material selected from the group consisting of adhesives, binding materials and bonding materials. 